Bruce Bowen criticizes Kawhi Leonard: It’s ‘nothing but excuses’

Kawhi Leonard was slammed by San Antonio Spurs great, Bruce Brown, on the recent trade hysteria.

With the draft over, the attention turns on the San Antonio Spurs and what they will do with Kawhi Leonard this offseason. He wants a trade, but management desires to keep their star player around for years to come, with the Los Angeles Lakers as the mentioned suitor.

The opinions on how the Spurs and Leonard have handled this situation varies. David Robinson thinks it will be resolved and kept out of the spotlight, while ESPN sports personality, Stephen A. Smith, believes the Silver and Black are “wasting their time.” 

Now, add former Spur Bruce Bowen into the mix of opinions. However, his might be the most outspoken of them all, telling Sirius XM NBA Radio that it’s “nothing but excuses” with Leonard. Bowen blamed it on bad advice.

“First, it was, ‘Well I was misdiagnosed.’ Look here: You got $18 million this year, and you think that they’re trying to rush you? You didn’t play for the most part a full season this year. And you’re the go-to guy, you’re the franchise and you want to say that they didn’t have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?”

Maybe it’s the advice from the “group” that Gregg Popovich referred to earlier this season, but it’s strong words from Bowen. He’s the first member, past or present, of this organization to speak out and criticize Leonard in this fashion.

Leonard missed all but nine games this season with a right quadriceps injury. The organization first announced it before the preseason, only for Leonard to miss the first two months of the season. He returned on and off for about 30 days, but was shut down in January and never returned to the court, including in San Antonio’s postseason run against the Golden State Warriors.

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Leonard’s Spurs future is in doubt and it’s set to be one of the offseason’s main storylines. It’s a situation that seems far from over, however, with the organization in no rush to move their would-be franchise player. A trade is not 100 percent necessary, either, so it’s possible nothing happens.